Anterograde Amnesia: Symptoms, Causes, And Treatment
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Amnesia is a widely misunderstood phenomenon among the general public. Many are only familiar with amnesia as a media diagnosis, in which a character in a show or movie loses all memory of who they are until a convenient moment for the plot. In reality, amnesia can be far more nuanced. Below, we’ll take a closer look at one type called anterograde amnesia.
What is anterograde amnesia?
Anterograde amnesia is the opposite of another type of memory loss called retrograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia is when a person starts losing past memories, or memories that had already been stored. Retrograde and anterograde amnesia often occur together, although it is possible for them to occur on their own. Examples of them occurring together can be seen in individuals with certain forms of dementia, when a person forgets past memories and is also unable to form new ones.
How anterograde amnesia works
Anterograde amnesia that occurs on its own can be a result of brain damage from a traumatic brain injury or a medical condition, though these instances are rare. It’s more often observed together—anterograde and retrograde amnesia at the same time—in people living with dementia.
When a person experiences anterograde amnesia, there are several areas of the brain that may be involved: the hippocampus, the medial temporal lobe, the fornix, and/or the basal forebrain. Anterograde amnesia’s effects on these areas impact a person’s ability to create and retain new memories. To understand how this works, it can be helpful to get familiar with how the brain stores different types of information.
There are two broad types of memory that the brain stores: explicit and implicit. Explicit memory refers to memories that you recall with intention, and they can be divided into two types: episodic and semantic memory.
- Episodic memory allows you to recall details around a specific event. For example, if you’re thinking about a work party you attended last weekend, you may remember what kind of food they served, how the office was decorated, or the gossip you heard from one of your co-workers.
- Semantic memory is simply remembering the fact that you attended a work party last Saturday.
Implicit memories, on the other hand, are memories that you just seem to know, whether you can recall how you learned them or not. An example of an implicit memory is knowing how to ride a bike despite the fact that you may not remember anything about how you learned to do it.
When someone experiences anterograde amnesia, they may be able to retain implicit memories (they can remember how to make coffee) but not explicit memories (they forgot the fact that their adult child visited them that morning). This is because different memory processes take place in different parts of the brain.
Symptoms of anterograde amnesia
The main symptom of anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories. Depending on the case, a person may retain a new memory for a few minutes. Or, in the case of more severe anterograde amnesia, they may forget what happened just seconds ago. Other signs of anterograde amnesia may include:
- Headaches
- Confusion around times, dates, or current events
- Forgetting faces and names of people they just met
- The inability to remember what they last ate or when they last ate
- The inability to remember recent life changes
- Difficulty with or the inability to write, read, or speak
Causes of anterograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia is caused by brain trauma, but there are a number of scenarios that can put a person at risk for this kind of trauma. They include:
- An impact-based head injury that causes a traumatic brain injury (caused by a car accident, a fall, an assault, etc.)
- Certain medications (specifically sedatives or anesthetics)
- Stroke
- Brain aneurysm
- Brain inflammation from infections like encephalitis
- Brain tumor
- Chronic alcoholism
- Seizures
- Transient global amnesia, a condition with no known cause that can affect people between ages 50 and 70
- Certain toxins
- Complications of brain surgery
- Certain mental health conditions that cause dissociative amnesia
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Diagnosing this type of amnesia
The diagnosis and treatment of memory disorders like anterograde amnesia usually involve input from multiple members of a person’s care team. First, a primary healthcare provider who suspects this disorder will typically refer the patient to neurology, radiology, and psychiatry for testing to determine potential causes and plan next steps.
A neurologist will look for signs of traumatic brain injuries and symptoms of other brain-related issues. Testing may include taking a complete medical history and doing blood tests and a spinal tap. The patient may then be sent to radiology for a series of scans: MRIs, CTs, and PET scans are common. Finally, a psychiatrist may do a series of memory and cognitive tests and observe the individual for signs of mental health conditions that may be contributing to memory impairment.
Treatment options
While anterograde amnesia in itself is not directly curable, it may sometimes be possible to treat some of the underlying causes. In other cases, the amnesia may go away on its own.
If it doesn’t resolve on its own, there are certain types of techniques that may help a person experiencing this condition by retraining how their brain learns. These include procedural learning and priming. Because both use implicit memory (which anterograde amnesia does not typically affect), a person may be able to build skills in this area over time that can help them with day-to-day functioning related to memory.
Alongside learning through new strategies, a therapist (often a psychologist or an occupational therapist), may work with the patient on learning compensatory strategies to help them work around their memory impairment. Some examples may include:
- Labeling items
- Writing extensive notes
- Keeping a daily diary or journal
- Using apps to provide reminders for important tasks, such as taking medication, paying bills, or keeping doctor’s appointments
- Using a calendar, agenda, or planner
How can I support someone with anterograde amnesia?
First and foremost, if you notice the symptoms of anterograde amnesia in yourself or someone you’re close to, it can be essential to get a medical diagnosis and treatment from a healthcare professional as soon as possible. Once diagnosed, the doctor will likely suggest a personalized treatment plan.
If a loved one receives a diagnosis of anterograde amnesia, they may need practical assistance and emotional support. For example, you might encourage and remind them to participate in recommended therapies, such as occupational therapy or mental health counseling. You can be patient and compassionate and act as a listening ear when they have moments of frustration, and you can also follow up regularly to ensure that they’re getting to their appointments and that they have the support they need.
If you are diagnosed with anterograde amnesia, don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed. An occupational therapist can also offer a number of compensatory strategies that may help you manage activities of daily living (ADLs) more easily, and friends and family can offer emotional support and assistance, too.
Finally, it may also be helpful to work with a licensed talk therapist, as they can offer emotional support and tools to manage stress. If you have difficulty making it to in-person appointments, online therapy may be a more convenient alternative. Research suggests that online sessions can be just as effective as in-person sessions for addressing a variety of emotional and mental health challenges, and you can attend them from the comfort of your own home or anywhere you have an internet connection.
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